The Bruce Trojans appear to be peaking when it matters most. Bruce flattened visiting J.Z. George High School 39-6 for its third win in a row, and second in as many weeks to begin the Class 2A playoffs. The victory sets up a rematch of the Skuna River Rivalry at Calhoun City on Friday.
“(Playing Calhoun City) means absolutely everything,” Bruce coach James Ray said. “They embarrassed us last time, so we have to come back ready for that. They’re a very good team, and we just have to lineup and see what happens.”
The Wildcats defeated the Trojans 56-15 on October 3, but Calhoun City will face a much different Bruce team from two months ago. Ray has gone back to basics in recent weeks during the winning streak. The Trojans are running the ball more and having to rely less on the pass to gain chunks of yardage. Veteran quarterback Wesley Long is managing a ball control offense that has averaged more than 31 points per game the past three weeks.
“We’re a power running football team (these last three games),” Ray said. “We hadn’t been that all year, and we hadn’t been that in a long time. It’s just an offense we went to and we’re proud of.”
Getting players back healthy from injury has also helped in the turnaround.
“Part of it is probably getting everybody healthy at the same time,” Ross said. “Everybody is really playing to our top level lately.”
Temperatures hovered in the high 20s Friday, but the biting cold did little to slow the Trojans. Bruce (5-7, 1-3 4-2A) was dominant in all three phases of the game, scoring a touchdown on special teams, forcing three turnovers on defense, and rolling up 236 yards rushing on offense.
Jamar Brown has emerged as the featured back in Ray’s offense, and has proven more than capable. Brown rushed the ball 11 times for 204 yards and one touchdown against J.Z. George (7-6, 3-2 3-2A).
“Jamar is a workhorse. He’s a freaking workhorse,” Ray said. “I love him to death and what he brings to the table. He’s such a powerful runner, and we’re going to carry that into next week.”
Sixty-three of Brown’s yards came on one play when Bruce was leading 3-0 with 11:25 remaining in the second quarter. After an illegal procedure penalty on the Trojans’ first play of the drive, Brown then ran through the middle of the defense for the long score that gave Bruce a 10-0 lead.
“It was really special for me,” Brown said. “I know my offensive line is going to do it for me. They’re going to make the blocks to give me the holes to run through.”
J.Z. George responded with a 10-play, 58-yard drive that used nearly five minutes on the game clock. Quarterback Toby Brown scored on a four-yard run, and the Jaguars trailed 10-7. But the momentum seemed to swing for Bruce for good at the end of the first half after an odd series of plays.
The Trojans first had a 17-yard touchdown run by Dj Glaspie called back because of a holding penalty. Bruce was later forced to punt, and Tyler Donovan pinned the Jaguars inside the three-yard-line with 1:50 before halftime.
J.Z. George ran the ball three times and gained eight yards, and then called its last timeout inexplicably on fourth-and-one with 48 seconds left. The Jaguars converted on the try, but Toby Brown was intercepted two plays later. Antarius Glass made his first of two interceptions and returned the ball to the 10-yard-line with less than one second.
Bruce lined up for a field goal following the interception, but two straight offside penalties by J.Z. George gave Ray the confidence to try for a touchdown at the two-yard-line. Ross faked to Jamar Brown and rolled to his right where he found Justin Flemons wide open for the touchdown and a 17-6 lead.
“A month ago, people wrote us off,” Ray said. “I knew what these guys had in them, I knew their character, and I’m just proud to be here and proud to be a part of this bunch.”
Ross put the game out of reach at 4:48 in the third quarter with a 75-yard touchdown pass to Tyrique Gunn streaking up the up the left sideline. Gunn had six catches for 108 yards, and Ross finished 8-of-14 passing for 119 yards and two touchdowns.
“Tyrique Gunn, man, he can fly,” Ross said. “They played back off of us and we’d hit them with the short stuff and every once and a while hit them deep and surprise them.”
Bruce extended its lead to 32-6 when Josh Byrd returned a punt that was partially blocked by Zack Cruthirds 10-yards for a touchdown. The final score came with 2:34 remaining when Glaspie followed a 43-yard yard by Jamar Brown with a five-yard touchdown run.
The Trojans defense held the Jaguars to just 181 yards of total offense. The statistic was even more impressive considering Bruce played without Dandy Dozen selection Jay Johnson, who had been suspended for the game.
After the win, the Bruce players and coaches were already focused on facing Calhoun City for a second time.
“It’s everything,” Ross said. “We really feel like we didn’t play to our potential last time, and we feel like we have something to prove. We have that chip on our shoulder and were ready to go.”
Jamar Brown was nearly speechless.
“I’ve been dreaming abut this moment,” he said. “Since we lost to them, I’ve been dreaming that we would meet them again.”
Bruce plays at Calhoun City (12-0, 4-0 4-2A) at 7 p.m. on Friday.
